Applications of nuclear microprobes in the semiconductor industry

Possible nuclear microprobe applications in semiconductor industries are discussed. A unique technique using soft-error mapping and ion beam induced current measurements for reliability testing of dynamic random access memories such as soft-error immunity and noise carrier suppression has been developed for obtaining design parameters of future memory devices. Nano-probes and small installation areas are required for the use of microprobes in the semiconductor industry. Issues arising from microprobe applications such as damage induced by the probe beam are clarified. (orig.)